Automatic gas-analyzer.



No. 88 1,986. PATENTED MAR.17,,190.8." H. J. WBSTOVER.

AUTOMATIC GAS- ANALYZER.

APPLICATION FILED'MAR 21,1907.-

N 881 9861- PATENTEDMAR. 17' 1908.

0 H. J. WESTOVER AUTOMATIG-GAS ANALYZER. AP PLIOATION FILED MAB. 21. 1907.

4 ETS-5112M 2.

11m mmms P: rues ca, WASHINGTON, o. c.

PATENTBD MAR. 17, 1908.

H J. WESTOVER. AUTOMATIC GAS ANALYZER.

A'IPLIGATION IILED MAB. 21,1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

TN! nouns rtrins co, WASHINGTON, n c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. WESTOVER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC GAS-ANALYZER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 17, 1908.

Original application filed January 8, 1907. Serial No. 351,318. Divided and this application filed March 21, 1907. Serial No. 363,757.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. Wnsrovnn, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Bronx, city and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovement in Automatic Gas-Analyzers, of which the following is a specification.

In my former United States Letters Patent for improvement in apparatus for analy sis of gases, #833,274, dated October 16th, 1906, there is described and claimed an automatic CO recorder for furnace gases partly operated by electricity, and in my pending application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 351,318 filed January 8th, 1907, of which this is a division, there is described an automatically operated regulator for the air supply of furnaces, also electrically operated.

The present invention relates to an improved form of circuit controlling for use with either of the two types of apparatus of which certain specimens are shown, described. and claimed in said former patent and pending application. 1 herein describe the same in connection with certain specific devices set out in said patent and application, but it is to be understood. that the improvement here claimed may be used in connection with many other specific forms of apparatus, if desired.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a top view of an entire recording device as used with my improvement, Fig. 2 is a top view of the floats and their guides, Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are sections of the gas valve in different operative positions, Fig. 6 is a vertical section of certain parts, Fig. 7 is an enlarged section of the electrical devices on the floats, Fig. 8 is a horizontal section showing a preferred conducting and guiding device, Fig. 9 is a side elevation of an entire recorder, Fig. 10 is a sample recording strip, Fig. 11 is an elevation of the recording elements by them selves, and Fig. 12 shows a modification for normally open circuit.

Upon a common shaft 1. I mount the camgrooved actuating drum 2 and the recording drum 3; both being constantly rotated by means of the sprocket wheel 1, or otherwise. A reservoir for displacing liquid, shown in two parts at 5, 5, is carried by a vertical rack 6, counterweighted at 7 and moved up and down preferably by the means shown as follows:

A geared sector 8 is pivoted at 9 and is attached to an arm 10 whose outer end carries a roller running in the groove 11. a The arm is caused to swing by the groove 11 as the cylinder revolves and its motion is transmitted to alternately raise and lower the rack 6 by means of the sector 8, the pinion 12 and the gear 13.

The reservoir 5 connects by a flexible tube to the float chamber 15, above which. is a supplemental or gas chamber 16 co1nmuni eating by a pipe 17 to an absorption chamber,18, normally containing caustic potash solution or other liquid appropriate for absorbing the CO, or other gas whose proportion is to be recorded. or regulated or both. A reservoir 19 connects with 18 by a pipe 20.

A four way valve 21 commands connection of chamber 16, with atmosphere by pipe 22, with the gas supply pipe 23 and with the pipe 17. This valve is operated by a horizontal rod 24 connected to a lever 25, pivoted at 26 and carrying a roller which engages with the cam groove 27.

Within the chamber 15 are two metallic floats 28 and 29, the former of which surrounds the latter and is preferably rectangular in horizontal section. (See Fig. 2). An upward extension of the float 29 extends into a downward extension of the supplemental chamber 16 which contains a stop 30 whereby dupward movement of the float 29 is him ite The float 28 carries a metal contact plate 31 which is insulated by its supports 32. A stem 33 extends downward from the float 29 and passes through an aperture in the plate 31.. Above the plate, the stem is provided with contact points 34 adapted to rest normally upon the plate 31. Below the plate is a transverse insulating stop 35 intended to prevent the floats from separating too far.

In order to preserve the relative horizontal positions of the floats while offering no material impediment to delicate vertical adjustments, one or more centering devices may be employed. One of these is shown in detail in Figs. 7 and 8. The stem 33 is cut away to form a circular neck 36 which affords a bearing for four very delicate centering pins 37 which are flattened at their converging ends to form thin plates 38 shaped so as to embrace the neck 36 (see Fig. 8). The outer ends of the centering pins 37 abut upon the concave inner heads of adjusting screws These pins are so adjusted as to permit relative vertical movements of the two floats without any resisting friction. At the same time a perfect centering is obtained. Each of these guiding pins 37 is supported by the concavity of a screw 39 at one end and the opposite end of each is prevented from falling by the lower limit of the neck 36.

The vertical movements of the two floats as a whole within the chamber 15 are guided by means of conducting uprights 40 at the diagonally opposite corners of the float, 28 (see Fig. 2) and friction is diminished by use of the metal rollers 41.

The apparatus thus far described is sufficicnt for making and breaking an electric circuit in accordance with the proportion of a given gas in a mixture; for instance the percentage of CO in the flue gases of a furnace. This make and break of circuit can be utilized for recording or indicating a continuous succession of analyses, or for determining the operation of an automatic draft regulator in accordance with the proportion of CO in the flue gases of the furnace whose air supply is to be regulated. For purposes of illustration, I have shown the apparatus above described adapted to both of the above mentioned purposes; but it is to be understood that the mechanism herein shown for accomplishing the adaptation may be indefinitely varied without departing from my invention.

In Fig. 6 there are shown two electromagnets in circuit with a battery 42 and in series with each other. At 43 is shown the regulating magnet and at 44, the recording magnet. The operation of the regulating magnet is fully described in my aforesaid pending application, and it will be suflicient for exemplifying the usefulness of the present invention to explain the operation of the recording magnet. The recording drum 3 bears on the proper part of its periphery a tapering marking surface 45 which is. automatically inked by an inking roller 46 dipping into an ink reservoir 47. (See Fig. 11).

At 48 is pivoted a bent marking finger 49 to the lower end of which is fixed a horizontal weighted arm 50 which carries the armature 51 of the magnet 44. So long as this magnet is energized the lever is upheld and the marking finger is inoperative. A record ribbon 52 starts from a roll 53 and passes up between the marking finger 49 and the tapering marking surface 45, being carried over between pulleys 54 by mechanism not shown and forming no part of this invention.

The record drum 3 is provided with two flanges 55 raised above the surface of 45, so that the finger 49, which is as wideas the entire drum 3, is prevented from moving forward against the surface 45 except where the flanges 55 are cut away as shown in Fig. 11. The cutting away of the flanges 55 is accomplished on a gradual bevel as shown at 56, and these beveled surfaces act, as the drum 3 revolves, to raise or reset the finger 49 after it has been released by the magnet 44.

The revolution of the two drums 2 and 3 operates as follows :As each operation commences, the sector 8 begins to raise the reservoir 5 so as to cause the level of the oil, glycerin or other displacing liquid to rise in the float chamber 15. This continues, lifting the two floats 28, 29, until both 15 and 16 are completely filled; the residualgases from the e previous operation being drivenout through the valve 21'which connects 16 with the at mosphere pipe 22 (See Fig. 4). The valve then takes the position shown in Fig. 5 and the reservoir 5 sinks so that the displacing liquid falls in 15 and 16, drawing in the gases to be analyzedthrough pipe 23.

hen the predetermined quantity of gases has been drawn in,the valve takes the position of Fig. 3 and, as the liquid rises once more, thesegases are now driven over from 16, through pipe 17 to the absorbing chamber 18. This drives the. absorbing liquid over into the reservoir 19. Lastlythe displacing liquid sinks again in 16 and 15 and the gases from which the CO has now been removed, follow. over into 16. As the two floats sink on the surface of the displacing liquid, they are subjected to different. pressures as the residual gases become gradually more rarefied within 16. A critical moment will arrive when this difference in pressures will be sufficient 'to lift the float 29 away from its normal support on the contact plate 31, and the electric circuit through the magnets 43 and 44 willbe broken. Just when this will occur with relation to the position of the recording drum 3 will depend upon the volume of the residual gases, and therefore.

upon the proportion of the absorbed gas in the total volume analyzed.

When circuit is broken at 31 as above described, some portion ofthe marking surface 45 will beopposite the figure 49, and, as the -magnet 44 releases its armature, the weighted arm 50 will force 49 to press the ribbon 52 against the inked surface 45. This will make a transverse mark on the :ribbon 52 as long as the width of the surfacewhere touched. Thus the position of the drum 3 at the moment of circuit interruption is recorded and thereby there is provided an indication of the proportion of CO in the gases analyzed. As the surface 45 moves from wider to narrower (see arrow in Fig. 9) the width at the line of earliest contact will alone be recorded, although the ribbon remains touching the surface 45 until the advancing beveled surfaces on the flanges 55 raise the finger 49 and brin the armature 51 once more within the influence of the magnet 44, holding it there until circuit is oncemore closed at 31. By this means a record somewhat like that shown in Fig. 10 will be produced, where the transverse lines on ribbon 52 indicate the different percentages corresponding to the fine longitudinal lines shown. My improvement can also be adapted to cause operation of electro-magnetic mechanism by closing instead of opening a circuit. This is shown in Fig. 12, wherein the contact points 34- are shown under the metal contact plate 31 instead of over it, and the float 29 rests normally on insulation 57. When the float 29 moves upward with relation to the float 28 contact is made at 31 instead of being broken. In this modification the armature 51 is normally away from the magnet 44 and a record is made on the ribbon 52 by the flgure 49 only when circuit is closed at 31, whereby the armature 51 is lifted by the magnet a l.

floats, substantially as described.

2. In. a device for controlling electric circuits in correspondence with the proportion o'l'- a given gas in a mixture, comprising an outer float, a circuit-closing member carried thereby and insulated therefrom, an inner float, a circuit-closing member carried by the through the perforation in said plate and a circuit closing member carried by said stem and arranged. to make contact with said plate, substantially as described. I

4. In a gas analyzing apparatus, an outer float and an inner float, in combination with centering pins abutting at their outer ends on said outer float and converging to make contact with said inner float, substantially as described.

5. In a gas analyzing apparatus, an outer float, an inner float having a grooved stem and centering pins abutting at their outer ends on said outer float and converging to bear against said stem within said groove, substantially as described.

6. In a gas analyzing apparatus, an outer float, adjusting screws carried thereby, an inner float and centering pins abutting at their outer ends on said screws and converging to bear on said inner float, substantially as described.

HENRY J. WESTOVER. Witnesses H. p S. MAOKAYE, M. STEVEN. 

